HR corner To reduce turnover, know what causes it In most ways, the top boss at a large manufacturing company, Robert, managed his people well. He told his managers what he expected and gave them freedom to do their jobs the way they saw fit. He kept his door open most of the time and willingly discussed issues with his assistants. His company, however, was not immune to the turnover that plagues so many businesses. Additionally, his company was small, so turnover affected everyone in some way. Staff members had to assume someone else's duties in addition to their own or were moved temporarily to another area, often one they did not know so well. People worked overtime to finish jobs left undone by the missing employee. Stress was often high, and no one kept employees in the loop about the search for new workers. Seeking a reason for the turnover, Robert blamed it on the pay structure. People simply wanted more money, he reasoned. He took pains to review and revise pay policies, but even when he paid employees more, turnover did not decrease significantly. More puzzling, turnover often was lower in the areas where he expected it to be high and higher in areas where the pay and professionalism were the highest and required stability. With turnover costs soaring - estimates vary from a low of $10,000 per employee to a high of $50,000 per employee - Robert needed to dig deeper for the answer. If he had done so, he might have found many reasons why people were leaving his company: Staff members who saw no way to advance in their jobs Workers who did not know or agree with company values Employees who left because others did (Turnover often has that domino effect.) Robert - and all employers - need to know that there is a more efficient way to hold on to valuable employees. They need to know and understand their workforce and have good information about what their employees want. This would not be the same for each individual, but good employment practices generally allow workers to ask questions, understand company policy and make suggestions about how to get jobs done. Employers also need to know why good workers are leaving, and for that they need to delve deeper than the common exit interview in which departing employees generally don't want to burn their bridges. What if they had problems with a key manager who appears one way to the people she manages and another way to her bosses? What if the top boss is doing something that repels key workers, and he doesn't even know it? Assessment tools can help reduce turnover and positively affect other key areas as well. Hunches work in some areas, but when dealing with something as costly in time and human capital as turnover, the facts offer better solutions.  product FOCUS The Last Straw... It is the last straw. You finally decided that you have made your last trip to the neighbourhood chemist - even though it is convenient and the chemists are friendly and helpful. So what's the problem? Thanks to the checkout person's careless, unconcerned and often impatient attitude, most visits turn into unpleasant experiences. The cashier is probably a nice person - who is just in the wrong job. How many people in your company are in the wrong jobs? It is disconcerting to think that the person you have placed at the front desk, the employee your customers see first, might be driving them away! With so much competition in the marketplace, you certainly don't need obstacles impeding customers when they enter your doors. So how can you find out what kind of service your customers are getting? Good customer service begins with people who are naturally inclined to serving others. Profiles' Customer Service PerspectiveTM provides the information to help employers identify these people. The Customer Service PperspectiveTM will: Give you information to create a plan that fits your customer service needs Develop customised patterns for job matching by department Establish a comprehensive customer service philosophy that will extend throughout your organisation Help you build a reputation for excellent customer service Why let an employee in the wrong job drive your customers away? Instead, check out the Customer Service PerpsectiveTM and other Profiles assessments at profilesvictoria.com.au  Sales Tip of the Month Make VoiceMail Your Pal How often do you get to speak to the decision-maker in person? Some studies say up to 70 percent of business phone calls go to VoiceMail. Clearly, it's time to make this time-and money-saving device your friend. Here's how: Craft your 30-second elevator pitch in writing. Use a friendly tone of voice and your client's name. Practice your message, then read the speech as if you are saying it in person. Imagine grasping the client's hand and looking him or her in the eye. Be sure to include your contact information - email and phone number - speaking clearly and distinctly. Visualise your client writing the number from your message. Then say, "Please call me, and I will also follow up." Then do it. Case Study Profiles Sales IndicatorTM at a Recruitment Agency Background Facing low employee productivity, a recruitment organisation conducted a study using the Profile Sales IndicatorTM to see how employee productivity, in the form of sales totals, related to job match. Participants Thirteen of the organisation's recruiters participated in the study. Using sales dollars, the company classified employees as either top performers (six) or bottom performers (seven). The six top performers generated an average of nearly $50,000 in sales dollars more than the seven bottom performers. Job Match Pattern With the Profiles Sales IndicatorTM, we developed a job match pattern for a recruiter position using a concurrent study format. In January 2006, a sample of current recruiters served as the basis to formulate the job match pattern. The company now uses this pattern as the benchmark to predict recruiter performance based on Profiles Sales IndicatorTM pattern match. Performance Grouping Based on the information gathered from the employer, we built a pattern that described the qualities of the existing top performers. The 13 recruiters were then matched to this pattern. After a review of the samples, the top-performing employees were best identified by an overall job match percent of at least 79. This suggested that a top performer should be identified by a match of 79 percent or greater, and this benchmark was set as representing a good match to the job pattern. Of the 13 recruiters, six obtained a job match percent of 79 percent or greater. Five of those six recruiters, or 83 percent, were top performers. Additionally, five of the six were above the 79 percent job match pattern break point. One of the seven bottom performers, or 14 percent, achieved the same mark. Summary By utilising the Profiles Sales IndicatorTM to build and benchmark, this organisation has been able to successfully identify 83 percent of the employees who achieved the percent match benchmark as top performers. For this company, the average difference in sales earnings between top and bottom performers is nearly $50,000. By using the Profiles Sales IndicatorTM, this company is better able to select employees who are likely to succeed, earning more now and in the future.